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Fortie Family Flyer
May 18 – 24, 2009
Dear Family and Friends,
What is going on here is anybody’s guess; it’s all a blur. I think I need to write each night because by the time the end of the week comes along my memory of what happened is gone man, its really gone; gone to the great recycle bin in the sky, only to be retrieved in the resurrection (hopefully only the good stuff).
I worked hard at printing, packaging and labeling pictures for BYU. I took them down and found that they had moved my pictures from a small end at the back of the store to a larger section on a main isle next to other pictures and artwork of better known artists. That felt good. I guess the sales have been consistent enough that they feel I am there to stay. Maybe that move and the addition of a few new temples ( San Diego and a few new shots of temples I already have in the store) will increase the sales even more.
Jennifer and I went to the music run through of The Music Man and there are some great voices there. I am still trying to memorize my lines, hope all goes well.
Michelle went into the doctor Tuesday instead of Friday and he said he didn’t think she needed surgery. He said everyone’s nose is a bit crooked and Michelle’s didn’t seem to be beyond normal. I think we were just hypersensitive because of the break. By the end of the week she had no swelling and no black and blue coloring around her eyes or nose. Looks good!
Michelle pitches for both softball teams in gym. When it is her turn to bat the coach comes in to pitch. This is a coed class but she says the boys are used to overhand from baseball and the girls can’t hit the side of a barn so she has to pitch to both teams. She hit two homeruns so her coach bought her a root beer for doing such a good job. He wants her to join the track team next year. Her schedule is a bit easier so that might work.
Jennifer has been teaching Adam to read and he is doing very well. She sure does a great job with those kids. Sister Arnold is very good to her and they are glad she is there.
Michelle and Jennifer went to a practice for the Temple Dedication Celebration on Thursday night and were gone until about 11:00 pm . They said it’s all coming together. The performance is Saturday May 30th. Michelle’s friend, Preston , is in the extreme dance group that does some pretty fancy flips and stuff. This should be fun to watch. I encourage everyone to get to your stake center this Saturday night and watch it. Who knows, out of the 20,000 kids you may get a glimpse of our girls.
On Friday Michelle and I took a ride on the scooters up into the hills behind our house. We were on a dirt road and when Michelle was almost at a stop and trying to turn she tipped over. No harm done but I’m glad it happened; teaches respect for their weight and size. Except for that the ride was fun.
On Saturday we (except Tami who had to work and doesn’t like the scooters) packed the scooters and a picnic lunch into the truck and headed to grandpa and grandma’s to go with them and Chad and Alicia to visit graves in Heber and Mountain Home. We made it to dad’s brother and grandparents in Heber then decided to eat our picnic with some milkshakes from the Dairy Keen. It started raining as we were getting our shakes so we took them across the street to a pavilion in the park and had a nice lunch. We then headed for Mountain Home for my dad’s other brother who died as a child and his other grandfather and it rained on us most of the way. At Mountain Home the light rain was on again off again at the cemetery then finally came to a temporary stop. We were going to try and ride the scooters up in the canyon where we went camping years ago but because of the rain and the fact that it was getting late we decided to just get the scooters out right outside the cemetery and ride them along the farm road up to the house that my dad’s grandparents lived in so many years ago. They eventually sold it then the next person sold it for a bull and it was moved to where it stands now. Last time we were up there we talked to the residents and were invited in for a tour and took pictures. This time we noticed that a fairly large addition has been added on to the back of the house that is twice the size of the old house; things change. Mountain Home is a pretty farming community out in the middle of nowhere. It looks particularly rustic and homey on a rainy spring day when everything is green. I often wonder about how things turn out. If my grandfather would not have been asked to sing in the Tabernacle Choir he probably would have stayed there and taught school all his life and I would have been from Mountain Home instead of Salt Lake . But then their children would not have met the spouses they did so things really would have been different. So everything works out for the best I suppose. Anyway, grandma and grandpa and Chad and Alicia went home after riding the scooters a few times then Brian rode his scooter and Michelle, with Jennifer on the back, rode our scooter all the way to Duchesne even though the rain started up again. I drove in the truck in front of them and stopped now and then to ask if they wanted to stop but they didn’t, they were having too much fun. In Duchesne we packed them up because the road got busy and fast and then we headed home. We got home late and tired but it was a fun trip.
Sunday grandpa called and invited us to their house for dinner. Alicia had cooked up a nice roast so we couldn’t turn them down. The meal was good and then we decided to get to another grave before dark so we headed to Salt Lake . We met Mike and Linda there to put flowers on the Fortie side. We then headed back for dessert and we talked and had fun until the cows came home, so since they came home we decided it was time for us to go home so we did.
Well, that’s it for this week from our house.
Keep your helmet on,
Ken and clan
From Elder Jason Fortie:
Well one and all, greetings from the chaotic circle of life in which I dwell. I hail to you from a different land, but we shall get to that in a moment. Again I write a day late due to Memorial Day and the closure of the libraries for said holiday. But there is much to say and little time in which to say it... I'm not going to give you all the details of what happened till next week because I'm still trying to figure them out myself... but anyhow transfers were yesterday, and as suspected, after I ripped the Canal apart for 6 weeks, dishing out thousands (literally) of pass along cards, and leaving a pass along card in EVERY SINGLE APARTMENT in my area, they closed it down and pulled us out of there. Sigh, twice in a row I've had to be the one to go in to the crazy places and prep them to be shut down and find what's left worth finding before the madness takes over. Speaking of this madness, my last week in the canal I had an interesting experience, (which I will now share on the condition that mom, you don't call the mission office! They already know about what happened okay, and they are stressed enough). So I'm walking down the street on my way to an appointment and I hear a commotion down the street, I look to see 3 ladies with three kids, arguing with some guy, I paused to see what was happening, the situation got worse as the guy started chasing one of the ladies in a circle around the other 2 ladies and the three kids and the lady being chased was yelling at the other ladies call the police (in Spanish, they were all Hispanic) so one of the ladies tried to do so but the guy started to struggle with her to take her phone, then the lady he was chasing tried to help get him off that lady so she could call the police, at this point in time I was having a very difficult moment, there were a few other men around who had paused to see the situation but no one was doing anything and I was thinking "you're a missionary you probably shouldn't get involved... but I can't just let this happen..." Then he finally shoved one lady to the ground and she hit her leg on the curb cutting it open and he raised his fists as if he was about to attack her. At this moment in time, my thought process of stay out of the situation ended and I took off running at the guy yelling at him in Spanish, he heard me and took off running through the Canal. At first I slowed my pace thinking the situation was over and all would be okay, but to my great dismay the two ladies still standing took off running after the guy! They were on the phone with 911 and were trying to keep track of him to tell the police where he was! So I ran over to the lady on the ground who they had left with the three crying children and said are you okay, she told me yes but go help them! Pointing to her friends chasing the nut case. So I took off full speed in hot pursuit of them, my poor companion, still fairly green, looked like he was about as bewildered as a wildebeest with a lion on it's back, but I was not about to take the time to tell him what to do, I decided he'd figure something out on his own, whether it be to follow me or to stay with the lady and the kids. (luckily he chose to follow me and was about 100 feet or so behind me trying to keep up) So I caught up with the ladies who had rounded a corner and had stopped and were looking around, I asked if they were okay, they said yes but we need to catch him, go find him! So I took off into the Canal but with the head start he had on me while stopping to talk with them I had lost sight of him and I lost him in the Canal. So then I turned back and my companion caught up with me, and we went back to make sure they were all okay, we got back just in time to have these ladies hand me the phone and found myself talking with a 911 operator, I was a bit winded so I tried to explain what I had seen, then they got someone who spoke Spanish and I talked to her for a second then handed the phone back to the ladies. We waited a moment to make sure the guy didn't come back, and that they were going to be okay, then we decided it would be best for us to not be involved in the whole police process so we left when we could hear sirens in the back ground. So that was my fun experience chasing the drunk wife-beater through the canal haha. Yes I know, it could have possibly been dangerous, but just cause I'm a missionary doesn't mean I can just ignore such a situation. maybe I shouldn't tell you these stories till after my mission... anyhow. Fun times in the canal.
But now I am gone from the Canal, I have been sent back to the San Mateo/San Bruno area, where I spent 1 transfer, and as to all that is going on here, well that is what is still the confusing part... which I will explain next week when I understand more of what's going on. But for now, I can tell you my new companions (I'm in a threesome again) are Elder Crepo, who goes home in 4 weeks, and Elder Crosby, our Greenie! This should be an interesting transfer, there are 5 of us, (we live with 2 Elders from the English program) in one apartment, I don't have a bed, I just have a matress in the corner, my desk I made out of a little end table, a leather arm chair and a T.V stand, because they couldn't get me one with all the madness, and I still am not quite sure what my area is or what is going on. It was the most insane transfer I have ever seen! Total madness! But I have news. It has been decided, (for now at least, president may change his mind) that I will be sent to the "California, Oakland mission". Which is keeping up with my pattern of being sent to the most crazy places in the mission you can go haha! It's also very cool because brother Todd Jankowski, Daniel’s dad, also served his mission there! So I will be able to chat with him about that after the mish! I wonder if he's got any old investigators he wants me to go by haha! But I will have a new mission address, which I will get you in the next few weeks, but until June 18th you should still send any thing to the old address, we will change over to the new mission June 22nd. So that's that... I'm off to Oakland, and what ever lies in store for me there. Well my time grows short to write, but I am glad to hear Michelle's face is on the mend. I hope everything else is going well for everyone else out there. So now with Nathan home is Paige still planning on coming down Bay-side or not? Either way, keep me posted, I'll be here haha. Actually I live about 5 minutes from the San Francisco airport, so I'm pretty darn close. Oh, did grandpa ever get my birthday post card? uhm, are you still working on selling my 67 mustang? We need to get that going. And I think that should do it for the week. Care one and all, I hope you are all doing well and that you are working hard at your new callings as ward mission leaders and what not. Keep smiling! Gosh if I can do it you can! HAHA!!!Love,Elder Fortie
May 18 – 24, 2009
Dear Family and Friends,
What is going on here is anybody’s guess; it’s all a blur. I think I need to write each night because by the time the end of the week comes along my memory of what happened is gone man, its really gone; gone to the great recycle bin in the sky, only to be retrieved in the resurrection (hopefully only the good stuff).
I worked hard at printing, packaging and labeling pictures for BYU. I took them down and found that they had moved my pictures from a small end at the back of the store to a larger section on a main isle next to other pictures and artwork of better known artists. That felt good. I guess the sales have been consistent enough that they feel I am there to stay. Maybe that move and the addition of a few new temples ( San Diego and a few new shots of temples I already have in the store) will increase the sales even more.
Jennifer and I went to the music run through of The Music Man and there are some great voices there. I am still trying to memorize my lines, hope all goes well.
Michelle went into the doctor Tuesday instead of Friday and he said he didn’t think she needed surgery. He said everyone’s nose is a bit crooked and Michelle’s didn’t seem to be beyond normal. I think we were just hypersensitive because of the break. By the end of the week she had no swelling and no black and blue coloring around her eyes or nose. Looks good!
Michelle pitches for both softball teams in gym. When it is her turn to bat the coach comes in to pitch. This is a coed class but she says the boys are used to overhand from baseball and the girls can’t hit the side of a barn so she has to pitch to both teams. She hit two homeruns so her coach bought her a root beer for doing such a good job. He wants her to join the track team next year. Her schedule is a bit easier so that might work.
Jennifer has been teaching Adam to read and he is doing very well. She sure does a great job with those kids. Sister Arnold is very good to her and they are glad she is there.
Michelle and Jennifer went to a practice for the Temple Dedication Celebration on Thursday night and were gone until about 11:00 pm . They said it’s all coming together. The performance is Saturday May 30th. Michelle’s friend, Preston , is in the extreme dance group that does some pretty fancy flips and stuff. This should be fun to watch. I encourage everyone to get to your stake center this Saturday night and watch it. Who knows, out of the 20,000 kids you may get a glimpse of our girls.
On Friday Michelle and I took a ride on the scooters up into the hills behind our house. We were on a dirt road and when Michelle was almost at a stop and trying to turn she tipped over. No harm done but I’m glad it happened; teaches respect for their weight and size. Except for that the ride was fun.
On Saturday we (except Tami who had to work and doesn’t like the scooters) packed the scooters and a picnic lunch into the truck and headed to grandpa and grandma’s to go with them and Chad and Alicia to visit graves in Heber and Mountain Home. We made it to dad’s brother and grandparents in Heber then decided to eat our picnic with some milkshakes from the Dairy Keen. It started raining as we were getting our shakes so we took them across the street to a pavilion in the park and had a nice lunch. We then headed for Mountain Home for my dad’s other brother who died as a child and his other grandfather and it rained on us most of the way. At Mountain Home the light rain was on again off again at the cemetery then finally came to a temporary stop. We were going to try and ride the scooters up in the canyon where we went camping years ago but because of the rain and the fact that it was getting late we decided to just get the scooters out right outside the cemetery and ride them along the farm road up to the house that my dad’s grandparents lived in so many years ago. They eventually sold it then the next person sold it for a bull and it was moved to where it stands now. Last time we were up there we talked to the residents and were invited in for a tour and took pictures. This time we noticed that a fairly large addition has been added on to the back of the house that is twice the size of the old house; things change. Mountain Home is a pretty farming community out in the middle of nowhere. It looks particularly rustic and homey on a rainy spring day when everything is green. I often wonder about how things turn out. If my grandfather would not have been asked to sing in the Tabernacle Choir he probably would have stayed there and taught school all his life and I would have been from Mountain Home instead of Salt Lake . But then their children would not have met the spouses they did so things really would have been different. So everything works out for the best I suppose. Anyway, grandma and grandpa and Chad and Alicia went home after riding the scooters a few times then Brian rode his scooter and Michelle, with Jennifer on the back, rode our scooter all the way to Duchesne even though the rain started up again. I drove in the truck in front of them and stopped now and then to ask if they wanted to stop but they didn’t, they were having too much fun. In Duchesne we packed them up because the road got busy and fast and then we headed home. We got home late and tired but it was a fun trip.
Sunday grandpa called and invited us to their house for dinner. Alicia had cooked up a nice roast so we couldn’t turn them down. The meal was good and then we decided to get to another grave before dark so we headed to Salt Lake . We met Mike and Linda there to put flowers on the Fortie side. We then headed back for dessert and we talked and had fun until the cows came home, so since they came home we decided it was time for us to go home so we did.
Well, that’s it for this week from our house.
Keep your helmet on,
Ken and clan
From Elder Jason Fortie:
Well one and all, greetings from the chaotic circle of life in which I dwell. I hail to you from a different land, but we shall get to that in a moment. Again I write a day late due to Memorial Day and the closure of the libraries for said holiday. But there is much to say and little time in which to say it... I'm not going to give you all the details of what happened till next week because I'm still trying to figure them out myself... but anyhow transfers were yesterday, and as suspected, after I ripped the Canal apart for 6 weeks, dishing out thousands (literally) of pass along cards, and leaving a pass along card in EVERY SINGLE APARTMENT in my area, they closed it down and pulled us out of there. Sigh, twice in a row I've had to be the one to go in to the crazy places and prep them to be shut down and find what's left worth finding before the madness takes over. Speaking of this madness, my last week in the canal I had an interesting experience, (which I will now share on the condition that mom, you don't call the mission office! They already know about what happened okay, and they are stressed enough). So I'm walking down the street on my way to an appointment and I hear a commotion down the street, I look to see 3 ladies with three kids, arguing with some guy, I paused to see what was happening, the situation got worse as the guy started chasing one of the ladies in a circle around the other 2 ladies and the three kids and the lady being chased was yelling at the other ladies call the police (in Spanish, they were all Hispanic) so one of the ladies tried to do so but the guy started to struggle with her to take her phone, then the lady he was chasing tried to help get him off that lady so she could call the police, at this point in time I was having a very difficult moment, there were a few other men around who had paused to see the situation but no one was doing anything and I was thinking "you're a missionary you probably shouldn't get involved... but I can't just let this happen..." Then he finally shoved one lady to the ground and she hit her leg on the curb cutting it open and he raised his fists as if he was about to attack her. At this moment in time, my thought process of stay out of the situation ended and I took off running at the guy yelling at him in Spanish, he heard me and took off running through the Canal. At first I slowed my pace thinking the situation was over and all would be okay, but to my great dismay the two ladies still standing took off running after the guy! They were on the phone with 911 and were trying to keep track of him to tell the police where he was! So I ran over to the lady on the ground who they had left with the three crying children and said are you okay, she told me yes but go help them! Pointing to her friends chasing the nut case. So I took off full speed in hot pursuit of them, my poor companion, still fairly green, looked like he was about as bewildered as a wildebeest with a lion on it's back, but I was not about to take the time to tell him what to do, I decided he'd figure something out on his own, whether it be to follow me or to stay with the lady and the kids. (luckily he chose to follow me and was about 100 feet or so behind me trying to keep up) So I caught up with the ladies who had rounded a corner and had stopped and were looking around, I asked if they were okay, they said yes but we need to catch him, go find him! So I took off into the Canal but with the head start he had on me while stopping to talk with them I had lost sight of him and I lost him in the Canal. So then I turned back and my companion caught up with me, and we went back to make sure they were all okay, we got back just in time to have these ladies hand me the phone and found myself talking with a 911 operator, I was a bit winded so I tried to explain what I had seen, then they got someone who spoke Spanish and I talked to her for a second then handed the phone back to the ladies. We waited a moment to make sure the guy didn't come back, and that they were going to be okay, then we decided it would be best for us to not be involved in the whole police process so we left when we could hear sirens in the back ground. So that was my fun experience chasing the drunk wife-beater through the canal haha. Yes I know, it could have possibly been dangerous, but just cause I'm a missionary doesn't mean I can just ignore such a situation. maybe I shouldn't tell you these stories till after my mission... anyhow. Fun times in the canal.
But now I am gone from the Canal, I have been sent back to the San Mateo/San Bruno area, where I spent 1 transfer, and as to all that is going on here, well that is what is still the confusing part... which I will explain next week when I understand more of what's going on. But for now, I can tell you my new companions (I'm in a threesome again) are Elder Crepo, who goes home in 4 weeks, and Elder Crosby, our Greenie! This should be an interesting transfer, there are 5 of us, (we live with 2 Elders from the English program) in one apartment, I don't have a bed, I just have a matress in the corner, my desk I made out of a little end table, a leather arm chair and a T.V stand, because they couldn't get me one with all the madness, and I still am not quite sure what my area is or what is going on. It was the most insane transfer I have ever seen! Total madness! But I have news. It has been decided, (for now at least, president may change his mind) that I will be sent to the "California, Oakland mission". Which is keeping up with my pattern of being sent to the most crazy places in the mission you can go haha! It's also very cool because brother Todd Jankowski, Daniel’s dad, also served his mission there! So I will be able to chat with him about that after the mish! I wonder if he's got any old investigators he wants me to go by haha! But I will have a new mission address, which I will get you in the next few weeks, but until June 18th you should still send any thing to the old address, we will change over to the new mission June 22nd. So that's that... I'm off to Oakland, and what ever lies in store for me there. Well my time grows short to write, but I am glad to hear Michelle's face is on the mend. I hope everything else is going well for everyone else out there. So now with Nathan home is Paige still planning on coming down Bay-side or not? Either way, keep me posted, I'll be here haha. Actually I live about 5 minutes from the San Francisco airport, so I'm pretty darn close. Oh, did grandpa ever get my birthday post card? uhm, are you still working on selling my 67 mustang? We need to get that going. And I think that should do it for the week. Care one and all, I hope you are all doing well and that you are working hard at your new callings as ward mission leaders and what not. Keep smiling! Gosh if I can do it you can! HAHA!!!Love,Elder Fortie
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